Apple has just unveiled the new iPhone 5 with a larger Retina display. FlatpanelsHD is always curious when it comes to display technology and Apple says that it has “integrated touch” technology and a elongated 4-inch display in the 16:9 aspect ratio.

iPhone 5 with 4" Retina display
Apple has unveiled the next generation of the iPhone and when it comes to the display Apple a lot of new things to tell about. The display is still based on IPS LCD technology with LED backlight. However, the screen format has been changed to 16:9 and the display is now 4 inches in diagonal.


Apple’s new iPhone 5 with 4-inch Retina display

The larger 4-inch display means that Apple has increased the resolution to 1136x640 pixels in 16:9. This combination still gives the iPhone a pixel density of 326 ppi (pixels per inch) which is similar to iPhone 4 and 4S. In other words, detailing and text crispiness is unchanged. The display is longer but not wider and Apple explains by saying that it ensures a perfect and unchanged grip when in the hand. It can still be navigated with one hand and the thumb instead of two hands. Apple has also updated all their apps to fit the new format. The home screen now has 5 app rows.

Apple also told about some of the benefits of a widescreen display. EA (Electronic Arts) had joined Apple on stage to show how games could benefit from the widescreen format. To boost the gaming performance Apple has also updated to an A6 processor that is twice as fast and has twice the graphic performance. EA says that it basically makes it “fully comparable to console graphics”. Apple also talked about how you can now watch widescreen movies without black bars on the top and bottom.


Apple’s new iPhone 5 with 4-inch Retina display

Apple has used a so-called in-cell touch technology (Apple calls it integrated touch). In-cell is – as the name implies – a method of moving the touch sensors into the screen instead of being located on a layer outside the screen. This should give a boost to brightness levels as more light can pass through easier. Apple says that the display has 44 % better color saturation than the 4S – a bold claim, surely - and more accurate touch sensors. In-cell also enables Apple to make the display panel considerably thinner which also affects the phone. The iPhone 5 is 18 % thinner than 4S and measures just 7.6 millimeters. It is also 20 % lighter and weighs 112 grams.


Apple’s new iPhone 5 with 4-inch Retina display

In-cell is difficult to produce as you move a considerable amount of technology into the screen instead of producing touch sensors separately as a different component. We will feature an in-depth article about how in-cell touch technology works in a later article where we also tell you more about the recent development in touch technology for displays.

Besides the larger display, iPhone 5 also has LTE (4G), a faster A6 processor, a new 80 % smaller “Lightning” connector and a 8 megapixel camera. Pricing is unchanged.